Partition Processing Methods and Systems

ABSTRACT

The disclosure provides methods for separating and/or purifying one or more molecules released from one or more fluid compartments or partitions, such as one or more droplets. Molecules can be released from a fluid compartment(s) and bound to supports that can be isolated via any suitable method, including example methods described herein. The disclosure also provides devices that can aid in isolating supports bound to molecules.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/119,930 filed Feb. 24, 2015 the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Nucleic acid sequencing technology has experienced rapid and massive advances over recent years. As compared to gel based separation methods where nested sets of terminated sequence extension products were interpreted visually by scientists, today's sequencing technologies produce enormous amounts of sequence data, allow illumination of never before sequenced genomes and genome regions, and provide throughput and costs that allow the widespread adoption of sequencing into routine biological research and diagnostics.

Droplet-based microfluidic techniques are becoming a popular method of preparing molecules for sequencing due to massive high-throughput, low reagent cost, and ease of preparation. However, droplet chemistry generates a complex mixture of chemicals and biological products that can impact the outcome of downstream applications. Therefore, there exists a need for improved methods of purifying molecules from droplets.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the disclosure provides a method for recovering target molecules from a plurality of droplets, comprising: a) providing a plurality of droplets having contents that comprise a plurality of target molecules; b) releasing the contents from the plurality of droplets to provide released target molecules; c) contacting the released target molecules with one or more supports, wherein the one or more supports bind the released target molecules to provide bound target molecules, and wherein the one or more supports comprises at least one component responsive to a magnetic force; and d) applying the magnetic force to the one or more supports.

In some cases, releasing the contents from the plurality of droplets to provide released target molecules further comprises destabilizing the plurality of droplets, thereby releasing the contents from the plurality of droplets. In some cases, the plurality of droplets comprise droplets in an emulsion and releasing the contents from the plurality of droplets to provide released target molecules further comprises contacting the emulsion with a destabilization agent that destabilizes the emulsion, thereby releasing the contents from the plurality of droplets. In some cases, the destabilization agent comprises perfluorooctanol.

In some cases, releasing the contents from the plurality of droplets to provide released target molecules further comprises releasing the contents from the plurality of droplets into a pooled mixture, wherein the pooled mixture comprises the released target molecules.

In some cases, the contacting step further comprises contacting the released molecules with the one or more supports by providing the one or more supports to the pooled mixture. In some cases, the contacting step further comprises contacting the released target molecules with the one or more supports in the presence of a chaotrope that aids in the one or more supports binding the released target molecules. In some cases, the chaotrope comprises guanadine thiocyanate or guanidine hydrochloride.

In some cases, the method provides for, after applying the magnetic force, releasing the bound target molecules from the one or more supports to provide re-released target molecules. In some cases, releasing is completed with the aid of an elution agent. The elution agent may comprise one or more of the following, without limitation: water, Tris buffer, phosphate buffer, and sodium hydroxide. Moreover, in some cases, prior to releasing the bound target molecules from the one or more supports, the method further comprises washing the one or more supports in one or more wash cycles by contacting the one or more supports with a washing agent. In some cases, the washing agent comprises ethanol, isopropanol and/or acetone. In some cases, the method comprises, after releasing the bound target molecules from the one or more supports, subjecting the re-released target molecules to a solid phase reversible immobilization process.

In some cases, the target molecules comprise target nucleic acid molecules. In some cases, the method further comprises, after the contacting step, determining sequences of the target nucleic acid molecules. In some cases, the method comprises, after the contacting step, appending one or more additional nucleotides to the target nucleic acid molecules to provide larger target nucleic acid molecules. In some cases, the method further comprises determining sequences of the larger target nucleic acid molecules.

In some cases, the target molecules comprise one or more of a small molecule, a protein, or a peptide.

In some cases, the at least one component comprises a magnetic particle.

In some instances, the one or more supports are functionalized with a silanol that aids in the one or more supports binding the target molecules. In some cases, the one or more supports are functionalized with a carboxylate that aids in the one or more supports binding the target molecules.

Further, the contents of the plurality of droplets may comprise one or more nucleic acid molecules. The contents may further comprise a polymerase. The contents may further comprise a primer. In some cases, the primer comprises a barcode sequence. Further, the primer may comprise a random N-mer.

In some cases, the contents of the plurality of droplets further comprise one or more polymeric species. The polymeric species may comprise polyacrylamide. The polyacrylamide may comprise a linear polyacrylamide. In some cases, the polyacrylamide may comprise agarose. In some instances, the contents of the plurality of droplets may further comprise a reducing agent.

In some cases, the plurality of droplets comprises aqueous droplets. Further, the plurality of droplets may comprise at least about 1,000 droplets, at least about 10,000 droplets, at least about 100,000 droplets, at least about 1,000,000 droplets or at least about 10,000,000 droplets.

In some aspects, the disclosure provides a method for purifying a target molecule, comprising: a) in a vessel, providing a support to a liquid mixture comprising contents of a destabilized droplet that comprise a target molecule, wherein the support binds the target molecule to provide a bound target molecule; b) immobilizing the support at a first location of the vessel, thereby separating the support from the liquid mixture; c) removing the liquid mixture from the vessel; d) providing a suspension fluid to the vessel, thereby suspending the support in the suspension fluid; and e) immobilizing the support at a second location of the vessel, thereby separating the support from the suspension fluid, wherein the second location of the vessel is different than the first location of the vessel.

In some cases, in a), the liquid mixture further comprises a chaotrope that aids in the support binding the target molecule. The chaotrope may comprise guanadine thiocyanate or guanidine hydrochloride. In some cases, in a), the liquid mixture further comprises a polymeric species. The polymeric species may comprise polyacrylamide. Furthermore, the polyacrylamide may comprise a linear polyacrylamide. In some cases, the polymeric species may comprise agarose.

In some cases, in a), the droplet is an aqueous droplet. Further, in some cases, in a), the liquid mixture further comprises a destabilization agent capable of destabilizing an emulsion. The destabilization agent may comprise PFO. Moreover, in some cases, in a), the liquid mixture further comprises a primer. The primer may comprise a barcode sequence. In some cases, the primer comprises a random N-mer. Furthermore, in a), the liquid mixture may further comprise a reducing agent.

In some cases, the immobilizing step further comprises magnetically immobilizing the support at the first location of the vessel. In some examples, the removing step further comprises removing the liquid mixture from the vessel via suction. In some cases, the removing step further comprises removing the liquid mixture from the vessel via decanting. In some cases, in d), the suspension fluid comprises ethanol, isopropanol or acetone.

In some cases, the second immobilizing step further comprises magnetically immobilizing the support at the second location of the vessel.

In some cases, the method further comprises, after e), releasing the bound target molecule from the support, to provide a released target molecule. In some cases, releasing is completed with the aid of an elution agent. The elution agent may comprise one or more of the following, without limitation: water, Tris buffer, phosphate buffer, and sodium hydroxide.

In some cases, prior to releasing the bound target molecule from the support, the method can further comprise washing the support in one or more wash cycles by contacting the support with a washing agent. The washing agent may comprise one or more of the following, without limitation: ethanol, isopropanol, and acetone.

In some cases, after releasing the bound target molecule from the support, the method can further comprise subjecting the released target molecule to a solid phase reversible immobilization process. In some cases, the target molecule comprises a target nucleic acid molecule. Furthermore, after e), the method can further comprise determining a sequence of the target nucleic acid molecule. In some cases, after e), the method may further comprise appending one or more additional nucleotides to the target nucleic acid molecule to provide a larger target nucleic acid molecule. In some cases, the method may further comprise determining a sequence of the larger target nucleic acid molecule. The target molecule may comprise a small molecule, a protein, a peptide.

In some cases, the support comprises a magnetic material. In some cases, the support comprises a particle. Furthermore, the support may be functionalized with a silanol that aids the support in binding the target molecule. In some cases, the support is functionalized with a carboxylate that aids the support in binding the target molecule.

In some cases, the vessel may be a tube, a well, a dish and/or a container.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a method for purifying a target molecule, comprising: a) in a vessel, providing a liquid mixture comprising: a target molecule; a support configured to bind the target molecule; a fluorinated oil; and a chaotrope; b) binding the target molecule to the support to provide a bound target molecule, wherein the chaotrope aids in binding the target molecule to the support; and c) separating the support from the liquid mixture under conditions that immobilize the support to a surface of the vessel.

In some cases, the fluorinated oil comprises a fluorocarbon oil. The fluorinated oil may comprise hexafluoropropylene epoxide or a polymer thereof. The liquid mixture may further comprise a fluorosurfactant. In some cases, the chaotrope comprises guanadine thiocyanate or guanidine hydrochloride.

In some cases, the liquid mixture further comprises a polymeric species. The polymeric species may comprise polyacrylamide. The polyacrylamide may comprise a linear polyacrylamide. In some cases, the polymeric species may comprise agarose. The liquid mixture may further comprise a destabilization agent capable of destabilizing an emulsion. The destabilization agent may comprise perfluorooctanol. In some cases, the liquid mixture further comprises a primer. The primer may comprise a barcode sequence. The primer may comprise a random N-mer. Furthermore, the liquid mixture may further comprise a polymerase. The liquid mixture may further comprise a reducing agent.

In some cases, the separating step further comprises separating the support from the liquid mixture under conditions that magnetically immobilize the support to the surface of the vessel. In some cases, after c), the method may further comprise releasing the bound target molecule from the support to provide a released target molecule. The releasing step may be completed with the aid of an elution agent. The elution agent may comprise one or more of the following, without limitation: water, Tris buffer, phosphate buffer, and sodium hydroxide.

The method may further comprise, prior to releasing the bound target molecule from the support, washing the support in one or more wash cycles by contacting the magnetic support with a washing agent. The washing agent may comprise one or more of the following, without limitation: ethanol, isopropanol, and acetone. Furthermore, after releasing the bound target molecule from the support, the method can further comprise subjecting the released target molecule to a solid phase reversible immobilization process. The target molecule may comprise a target nucleic acid molecule. The method may further comprise, after the separating step, determining a sequence of the target nucleic acid molecule.

In some cases, after the separating step, the method may further comprise appending one or more additional nucleotides to the target nucleic acid molecule to provide a larger target nucleic acid molecule. Furthermore, the method may comprise determining a sequence of the larger target nucleic acid molecule. The target molecule comprises a small molecule, a protein, a peptide.

In some cases, the support comprises a magnetic material. In some cases, the support comprises a particle. In some instances, the support is functionalized with a silanol that aids in binding the target molecule to the support. In other instances, the support is functionalized with a carboxylate that aids in binding the target molecule to the support.

In some examples, the vessel may be a tube, a well, a dish and/or a container.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides for a method for sequencing a nucleic acid library, comprising: a) generating a library of nucleic acid molecules, wherein the library comprises a plurality of droplets comprising the nucleic acid molecules; b) destabilizing the plurality of droplets, thereby releasing the nucleic acid molecules from the plurality of droplets into a common pool; c) recovering the nucleic acid molecules from the common pool to provide recovered nucleic acid molecules, wherein recovering comprises: i) in the common pool, immobilizing the nucleic acid molecules to a plurality of supports; and ii) isolating the plurality of supports; and d) determining sequences of at least a subset of the recovered nucleic acid molecules.

In some cases, the nucleic acid molecules comprise a barcode sequence. In some cases, the nucleic acid molecules comprise a random N-mer.

In some instances, the plurality of droplets comprises droplets in an emulsion. Furthermore, the destabilizing step may comprise destabilizing the emulsion.

In some cases, the plurality of supports comprises particles.

Furthermore, the generating step may comprise barcoding sample nucleic acid molecules in the plurality of droplets. Moreover, the immobilizing step may comprise, binding the nucleic acid molecules to the plurality of supports via one or more ionic interactions. Furthermore, the isolating step of c) may comprise subjecting the plurality of supports to one or more cycles of magnetic separation. The isolating step of c) may further comprise subjecting the plurality of supports to one or more cycles of centrifugation. In some cases, the method further comprises, prior to d), releasing the recovered nucleic acid molecules from the plurality of supports. In some cases, the method can further comprise appending one or more additional nucleotides to each of the recovered nucleic acid molecules to provide larger nucleic acid molecules. Furthermore, in d), determining sequences of at least the subset of the recovered nucleic acid molecules may comprise determining sequences of at least a subset of larger nucleic acid molecules.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent, or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. A better understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description that sets forth illustrative embodiments, in which the principles of the invention are utilized, and the accompanying drawings of which:

FIGS. 1A-1G provide a schematic illustration of an example method for barcoding and amplification of nucleic acid fragments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example workflow for performing generating nucleic acid molecules for sequencing as described in Example 1;

FIGS. 3A-3F illustrate an example method for recovering target molecules from droplets in an emulsion as described in Example 2;

FIG. 4A graphically illustrates product yields obtained from experiments described in Example 3; FIG. 4B graphically illustrates sequencing data obtained from experiments described in Example 3;

FIG. 5 graphically illustrates product yields obtained from experiments described in Example 4;

FIGS. 6A-6C schematically illustrate an example magnetic separation device; FIG. 6D schematically illustrates an example use of the example magnetic separation device of FIGS. 6A-6C; and

FIG. 7A schematically illustrates an example magnetic separation device and its use; FIGS. 7B and 7C provide additional view of the example magnetic separation device of FIG. 7A.

FIGS. 8A and 8B schematically illustrate an alternative example magnetic separation device.

FIGS. 9A-9C schematically illustrate another alternative example magnetic separation device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein are methods for isolating the content(s) of a partition, such as a droplet. The methods described herein are useful for isolating target molecule(s) from a mixture that can comprise the contents of one or more partitions. Moreover, the methods described herein may also be useful in the generation of nucleic acid libraries for sequencing. For example, a nucleic acid molecule library (e.g., a sequencing library) may be generated in a plurality of droplets in an emulsion. The contents of the droplets can be released from the droplets, by, for example, destabilizing or breaking the emulsion such that the contents are pooled in a common mixture that includes the nucleic acid molecule library. The nucleic acid molecules in the common mixture can be bound to a plurality of supports. Upon isolating the supports, the nucleic acid molecules can be isolated from the mixture. The nucleic acid molecules can then be washed and the supports isolated in one or more additional cycles, followed by elution of the nucleic acid molecules from the supports. The released nucleic acid molecules can then be further processed and analyzed, such as, for example, sequenced in a nucleic acid sequencing reaction.

Droplets and Emulsions

In one aspect, the methods herein provide for recovering target molecules from a plurality of droplets. In some examples, the methods provide for providing a plurality of droplets having contents that comprise a plurality of target molecules. As used herein, droplets generally refer to small globules of one liquid suspended in a second liquid. Droplets can be formed when two or more immiscible liquids are mixed such as, for example, water and oil. An example of a mixture comprising two or more immiscible liquids is an emulsion, such as a water-in-oil emulsion. The first liquid, which is dispersed in globules, can be referred to as a discontinuous phase, whereas the second liquid, in which the globules are dispersed, can be referred to as a continuous phase or dispersion medium. In some examples, the continuous phase can be a hydrophobic fluid, such as an oil, and the discontinuous phase can be an aqueous phase solution. Such a mixture can be considered a water-in-oil emulsion, wherein aqueous droplets are dispersed in an oil continuous phase. In other cases, an emulsion may be an oil-in-water emulsion. In such an emulsion, the discontinuous phase is a hydrophobic solution (e.g., oil) and the continuous phase is an aqueous solution, wherein droplets of oil are dispersed in an aqueous phase. In some examples, the emulsion may comprise a multiple emulsion. Multiple emulsions can comprise larger fluidic droplets that encompass one or more smaller droplets (i.e., a droplet within a droplet). Multiple emulsions can contain one, two, three, four, or more nested fluids generating increasingly complex droplets within droplets.

An oil of an emulsion may be selected based upon chemical properties, such as, among others molecular structure, content, solvating strength, viscosity, boiling point, thermal expansion coefficient, oil-in-water solubility, water-in-oil solubility, dielectric constant, polarity, water-in-oil surface tension, and/or oil-in-water surface tension. Examples of oils useful in an emulsion (e.g., a water-in-oil emulsion) include, without limitation, fluorinated oils, non-fluorinated oils, alkanes (e.g., hexane, decane, octane, and the like), mineral oils, plant oils, vegetable oils, comestible oils, mineral oil, oleic acid, embryo-tested mineral oil, light mineral oil, heavy mineral oil, PCR mineral oil, AS4 silicone oil, AS 100 silicone oil, AR20 silicone oil, AR 200 silicone oil, AR 1000 silicone oil, AP 100 silicone oil, AP 1000 silicone oil, AP 150 silicone oil, AP 200 silicone oil, CR 200 Silicone oil, DC 200 silicone oil, DC702 silicone oil, DC 710 silicone oil, octanol, decanol, acetophenone, perfluoro-oils, perfluorononane, perfluorodecane, perfluorodimethylcylcohexane, perfluoro-1-butanesulfonyl fluoride, perfluoro-1-octanesulfonyl fluoride, perfluoro-1-octanesulfonyl fluoride, nonafluoro-1-butanesulfonyl chloride, nonafluoro-tert-butyl alcohol, perfluorodecanol, perfluorohexane, perfluorooctanol, perfluorodecene, perfluorohexene, perfluorooctene, fuel oil, halocarbon oil 28, halocarbon oil 700, hydrocarbon oil, glycerol, 3M Fluoriner™ fluids (FC-40, FC-43, FC-70, FC-72, FC-77, FC-84. FC-87, FC-3283), oils comprising trifluoroacetic acid, oils comprising hexafluoroisopropanol, Krytox oils (e.g., oils comprising hexafluoropropylene epoxide and/or polymers thereof), oil comprising polyhexafluoropropylene oxide and/or polymers thereof, Krytox GPL oils, oils comprising perfluoropolyether, oils comprising perfluoroalkylether, oils comprising perfluoropolyalkylether, Solvay Galden oils, oils including oils include hydrofluoroethers (e.g., HFE-7500, HFE-7100, HFE-7200, HFE-7600), oils comprising perfluoroalkylamines (e.g., Fluorinert FC-3283 and Fluorinert FC-40), soybean oil, castor oil, coconut oil, cedar oil, clove bud oil, fir oil, linseed oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, almond seed oil, anise oil, clove oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, croton oil, olive oil, palm oil, peanut oil, bay oil, borage oil, bergamot oil, cod liver oil, macadamia nut oil, camada oil, chamomile oil, citronella oil, eucalyptus oil, fennel oil, lavender oil, lemon oil, nutmeg oil orange oil, petitgrain oil, rose oil, tarragon oil, tung oil, basil oil, birch oil, black pepper oil, birch tar oil, carrot seed oil, cardamom oil, cassia oil, sage oil, cognac oil, copaiba balsam oil, cypress oil, eucalyptus oil, dillweed oil, grape fruit oil, ginger oil, juniper oil, lavender oil, lovage oil, majoram oil, mandarin oil, myrrh oil, neroli oil, olibanum oil, onion oil, paraffin oil, origanum oil, parsley oil, peppermint oil, pimenta leaf oil, sage oil, rosemary oil, rose oil, sandalwood oil, sassafras oil, spearmint oil, thyme oil, transformer oil, verbena oil, and rapeseed oil. In some examples, a water-in-oil emulsion may comprise one or more of the oils described herein, wherein aqueous droplets are dispersed in the oil(s).

An emulsion may further comprise a surfactant. The surfactant may be a fluorosurfactant. Surfactants are known to stabilize droplets in a continuous phase. Examples of fluorosurfactants useful for stabilizing droplets are described in detail in U.S. Patent Publication 2010-0105112, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some examples, a water-in-oil emulsion may comprise one or more of the oils described herein having one or more surfactants (e.g., fluorosurfactants), wherein aqueous droplets are dispersed in the oil(s).

Droplets may be formed by a variety of methods. Emulsion systems for creating stable droplets in non-aqueous or oil continuous phases are described in detail in, e.g., Published U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010-0105112. In some cases, microfluidic channel networks are particularly suited for generating droplets as described herein. Examples of such microfluidic devices include those described in detail in Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 61/977,804, filed Apr. 4, 2014, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Droplets may be formed with a regular periodicity or may be formed with an irregular periodicity. In some aspects, the size and/or shape of the droplet may be determined by the size and shape of a channel in which the droplet is formed.

In some examples, droplets may generally be generated by flowing an aqueous stream into a junction of two or more channels of a microfluidic system into which is also flowing a non-aqueous stream of fluid, e.g., a fluorinated oil, such that aqueous droplets are created within the flowing stream non-aqueous fluid. The aqueous stream can include one or more species such that upon droplet formation, the droplet contents comprise aqueous interiors comprising the one or more species. Additional examples of such species are provided elsewhere herein. The relative amount of species within a droplet may be adjusted by controlling a variety of different parameters of the system, including, for example, the concentration of species in the aqueous stream, the flow rate of the aqueous stream and/or the non-aqueous stream, and the like.

Droplets may have overall volumes that are less than 1000 pL, less than 900 pL, less than 800 pL, less than 700 pL, less than 600 pL, less than 500 pL, less than 400 pL, less than 300 pL, less than 200 pL, less than 100 pL, less than 50 pL, less than 20 pL, less than 10 pL, or even less than 1 pL. Droplets may be monodisperse (i.e., substantially uniform in size) or polydisperse (i.e., substantially non-uniform in size). A plurality of droplets may be generated.

An emulsion may comprise a varied number of droplets depending upon the particular emulsion. For example, an emulsion may comprise at least 10 droplets, at least 50 droplets, at least 100 droplets, at least 500 droplets, at least 1000 droplets, at least 5000 droplets, at least 10,000 droplets, at least 50,000 droplets, at least 100,000 droplets, at least 500,000 droplets, at least 1,000,000 droplets, at least 5,000,000 droplets, at least 10,000,000 droplets, at least 50,000,000 droplets, at least 100,000,000 droplets and upwards.

Contents of Droplets

Droplets can encapsulate one or more species, such as one or more target molecules and/or particles. Put another way, a droplet can be a discrete partition, isolating one or more target molecules and/or particles. Generally, a discontinuous phase can be selected to be compatible with the target molecule(s) and/or particle(s) that are encapsulated. For example, a nucleic acid can be encapsulated in an aqueous droplet (e.g., a buffer). A target molecule can generally refer to a species of particular interest in which further analysis or sequestration of the species is desired. For example a target molecule may be a target nucleic acid molecule. A target nucleic acid molecule may be, for example, single-stranded, partially single-stranded, partially double-stranded, or double-stranded. A target nucleic acid molecule may be any type of nucleic acid with non-limiting examples that include oligonucleotides, nucleotides, DNA, RNA, peptide polynucleotides, complementary DNA (cDNA), double stranded DNA (dsDNA), single stranded DNA (ssDNA), plasmid DNA, cosmid DNA, chromosomal DNA, genomic DNA, viral DNA, bacterial DNA, mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA), mRNA, rRNA, tRNA, nRNA, siRNA, snRNA, snoRNA, scaRNA, microRNA, dsRNA, ribozyme, riboswitch and viral RNA, a locked nucleic acid (LNA) in whole or part, locked nucleic acid nucleotides and any other type of nucleic acid analogue

Other non-limiting examples of target molecules include peptides, proteins, small molecules and the like. In some cases a plurality of droplets may comprise a plurality of target molecules, such as a plurality of target nucleic acid molecules. In such cases, the plurality of droplets may be a nucleic acid library, wherein the droplets comprise nucleic acids for sequencing (e.g., a sequencing library).

A droplet may comprise a single target molecule or may comprise e a plurality of target molecules (e.g., target molecules). In some examples, one or more target molecules may be bound to a solid support. For examples, target molecules may be nucleic acids bound to a bead (e.g., polyacrylamide bead). In other examples, a target molecule may be a protein expressed on the surface of a biological cell. Target molecules may be the product of a chemical or biological reaction as described elsewhere herein.

Droplets may comprise any suitable type and/or number of species that can include, but are not limited to, nucleic acids (DNA), proteins, small molecules, peptides, biological cells (e.g., mammalian cells, bacterial cells), and the like. The contents of droplets may also comprise one or more particles, such as, for example beads. A particle may be any form of minute matter, natural or synthetic, that is small enough in size to be encapsulated by a droplet. In further examples, droplets may encapsulate a combination of particles and other species described herein. For example, a droplet may encapsulate a particle coated or bound with one or more additional species, such as, for example, a bead coated with nucleic acids.

In some examples, a droplet may comprise a particle such as bead, including gel beads and other types of beads. In particular, these particles may provide a surface to which reagents are releasably attached, or a volume in which reagents are entrained or otherwise releasably partitioned. These reagents may then be delivered in accordance with a desired method, for example, in the controlled delivery of reagents into droplets. A wide variety of different reagents or reagent types may be associated with the particles, where one may desire to deliver such reagents to a droplet. Non-limiting examples of such reagents include, e.g., enzymes, polypeptides, antibodies or antibody fragments, labeling reagents, e.g., dyes, fluorophores, chromophores, etc., nucleic acids, polynucleotides, oligonucleotides, and any combination of two or more of the foregoing. In some cases, the particles may provide a surface upon which to synthesize or attach oligonucleotide sequences. Various entities including oligonucleotides, barcode sequences, primers, crosslinkers and the like may be associated with the outer surface of a particle. In the case of porous particles, an entity may be associated with both the outer and inner surfaces of a particle. The entities may be attached directly to the surface of a particle (e.g., via a covalent bond, ionic bond, van der Waals interactions, etc.), may be attached to other oligonucleotide sequences attached to the surface of a particle (e.g. adaptor or primers), may be diffused throughout the interior of a particle and/or may be combined with a particle in a partition (e.g. fluidic droplet). In some cases, an entity such as a cell or nucleic acid is encapsulated within a particle. Other entities including amplification reagents (e.g., PCR reagents, primers) may also be diffused throughout the particle or chemically-linked within the interior (e.g., via pores, covalent attachment to polymeric matrix) of a particle. Additional examples of particles that may be useful are described in U.S. Patent Publication 2014-0378345, the full disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

A particle may comprise natural and/or synthetic materials, including natural and synthetic polymers. Examples of natural polymers include proteins and sugars such as deoxyribonucleic acid, rubber, cellulose, starch (e.g. amylose, amylopectin), proteins, enzymes, polysaccharides, silks, polyhydroxyalkanoates, chitosan, dextran, collagen, carrageenan, ispaghula, acacia, agar, gelatin, shellac, sterculia gum, xanthan gum, Corn sugar gum, guar gum, gum karaya, agarose, alginic acid, alginate, or natural polymers thereof. Examples of synthetic polymers include acrylics, nylons, silicones, spandex, viscose rayon, polycarboxylic acids, polyvinyl acetate, polyacrylamide, polyacrylate, polyethylene glycol, polyurethanes, polylactic acid, silica, polystyrene, polyacrylonitrile, polybutadiene, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, poly(chlorotrifluoroethylene), poly(ethylene oxide), poly(ethylene terephthalate), polyethylene, polyisobutylene, poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(oxymethylene), polyformaldehyde, polypropylene, polystyrene, poly(tetrafluoroethylene), poly(vinyl acetate), poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl chloride), poly(vinylidene dichloride), poly(vinylidene difluoride), poly(vinyl fluoride) and combinations (e.g., co-polymers) thereof. Particles may also be formed from materials other than polymers, including lipids, micelles, ceramics, glass-ceramics, material composites, metals, other inorganic materials, and others. In exemplary cases, the particle may comprise polyacrylamide. The polyacrylamide particle may comprise linear polyacrylamide (LPA). In other examples, the particle may comprise agarose.

In certain examples, reagents for one or more chemical or biological reaction can be encapsulated such that a droplet functions as a small reaction chamber in which a chemical or biological reaction(s) may take place. In these examples, the discontinuous phase can be selected to be compatible with the desired chemical or biological reaction(s) (i.e., can provide suitable conditions for the reaction to occur). In the case of a chemical or biological reaction, a droplet may include suitable components for the chemical or biological reaction to take place, such as, for example an enzyme, reactants, any necessary co-factors, etc. Once the reaction(s) takes place, the droplet can also comprise any products/by-products of the reaction(s). The biological reaction can be any number of enzymatic reactions that can be carried out in a droplet.

An example of a biological reaction that may take place in a droplet includes a primer extension reaction that may be useful in a nucleic acid amplification reaction, such as, for example a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In cases where a primer extension reaction takes place in a droplet, the droplet may comprise components for a primer extension reaction (i.e., template nucleic acid, primers, a polymerase, dNTPs, and the like). In some cases, the contents of the droplets may comprise a polymerase and/or any other enzyme for use in an amplification reaction. In other cases, the contents of the droplets may comprise a primer. In some cases, the primer may comprise a barcode sequence. In some cases, the primers may comprise a random N-mer. Examples of barcoding nucleic acid molecules in droplets are described below. As described elsewhere herein, a target molecule can be a target nucleic acid molecule. The target nucleic acid molecule may act as a template for an amplification reaction. Additional examples of amplification reactions that may be completed in droplets are provided by U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/316,383, filed Jun. 26, 2014, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

An example of a chemical reaction that can be conducted within a droplet is the dissolution or degradation of a particle in the droplet, such as a bead. A degradable particle may comprise one or more species with a labile bond such that when the particle/species is exposed to the appropriate stimuli, the bond is broken and the particle degrades. The labile bond may be a chemical bond (e.g., covalent bond, ionic bond) or may be another type of physical interaction (e.g., van der Waals interactions, dipole-dipole interactions, etc.). In some cases, a crosslinker used to generate a particle may comprise a labile bond. Upon exposure to the appropriate conditions, the labile bond is broken and the particle is degraded. For example, a polyacrylamide gel particle may comprise cystamine crosslinkers. Upon exposure of the particle to a reducing agent, the disulfide bonds of the cystamine are broken and the particle is degraded. Accordingly, a droplet may comprise a reducing agent that is capable of dissolving or degrading a particle having one or more disulfide bonds. Moreover, in the case of a polymeric particle, a droplet may comprise polymeric by-products (e.g., polymeric species) of a degraded particle. For example, in the case of a polyacrylamide particle, the droplet may comprise one or more polyacrylamide species, such as linear polyacrylamide (LPA), resulting from degradation of the particle.

Particles may also be degradable, disruptable, or dissolvable spontaneously or upon exposure to one or more stimuli (e.g., temperature changes, pH changes, exposure to chemical species or phase, exposure to light, reducing agent, etc.). In some cases, a particle may be dissolvable, such that material components of the particles are solubilized when exposed to a particular chemical species or an environmental change, such as, for example, temperature, or pH. For example, a gel bead may be degraded or dissolved at elevated temperature and/or in basic conditions. In some cases, a particle may be thermally degradable such that when the bead is exposed to an appropriate change in temperature (e.g., heat), the particle degrades. Degradation or dissolution of a particle bound to a species (e.g., a nucleic acid species) may result in release of the species from the particle.

FIGS. 1A-1G show an example of an amplification reaction that can be performed in a droplet and can be useful for generating a nucleic acid sequencing library in a plurality of droplets. In this example, oligonucleotides that include a barcode sequence are co-partitioned in, e.g., a droplet 102 in an emulsion, along with a sample nucleic acid 104 (e.g., a target nucleic acid molecule). As noted elsewhere herein, the oligonucleotides 108 may be provided on a bead 106 that is co-partitioned with the sample nucleic acid 104, which oligonucleotides can be releasable from the bead 106 (e.g., via degradation of one or more labile bonds of the bead), as shown in FIG. 1A. The oligonucleotides 108 include a barcode sequence 112, in addition to one or more functional sequences, e.g., sequences 110, 114 and 116. For example, oligonucleotide 108 is shown as comprising barcode sequence 112, as well as sequence 110 that may function as an attachment or immobilization sequence for a given sequencing system, e.g., a P5 sequence used for attachment in flow cells of an Illumina Hiseq or Miseq system. As shown, the oligonucleotides also include a primer sequence 116, which may include a random or targeted N-mer for priming replication of portions of the sample nucleic acid 104. Also included within oligonucleotide 108 is a sequence 114 which may provide a sequencing priming region, such as a “read1” or R1 priming region, that is used to prime polymerase mediated, template directed sequencing by synthesis reactions in sequencing systems. In many cases, the barcode sequence 112, immobilization sequence 110 and R1 sequence 114 may be common to all of the oligonucleotides attached to a given bead. The primer sequence 116 may vary for random N-mer primers, or may be common to the oligonucleotides on a given bead for certain targeted applications.

Based upon the presence of primer sequence 116, the oligonucleotides are able to prime the sample nucleic acid as shown in FIG. 1B, which allows for extension of the oligonucleotides 108 and 108 a using polymerase enzymes and other extension reagents also co-portioned with the bead 106 and sample nucleic acid 104. As shown in FIG. 1C, following extension of the oligonucleotides that, for random N-mer primers, would anneal to multiple different regions of the sample nucleic acid 104; multiple overlapping complements or fragments of the nucleic acid are created, e.g., fragments 118 and 120. Although including sequence portions that are complementary to portions of sample nucleic acid, e.g., sequences 122 and 124, these constructs are generally referred to herein as comprising fragments of the sample nucleic acid 104, having the attached barcode sequences. As can be appreciated, the replicated portions of the template sequences as described above are often referred to herein as “fragments” of that template sequence. Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, the term “fragment” encompasses any representation of a portion of the originating nucleic acid sequence, e.g., a template or sample nucleic acid, including those created by other mechanisms of providing portions of the template sequence, such as actual fragmentation of a given molecule of sequence, e.g., through enzymatic, chemical or mechanical fragmentation. In some cases, however, fragments of a template or sample nucleic acid sequence can denote replicated portions of the underlying sequence or complements thereof.

The barcoded nucleic acid fragments may then be subjected to characterization, e.g., through sequence analysis, or they may be further amplified in the process, as shown in FIG. 1D. For example, additional oligonucleotides, e.g., oligonucleotide 108 b, also released from bead 106, may prime the fragments 118 and 120. In particular, again, based upon the presence of the random N-mer primer 116 b in oligonucleotide 108 b (which in many cases may be different from other random N-mers in a given droplet, e.g., primer sequence 116), the oligonucleotide anneals with the fragment 118, and is extended to create a complement 126 to at least a portion of fragment 118 which includes sequence 128, that comprises a duplicate of a portion of the sample nucleic acid sequence. Extension of the oligonucleotide 108 b continues until it has replicated through the oligonucleotide portion 108 of fragment 118. As noted elsewhere herein, and as illustrated in FIG. 1D, the oligonucleotides may be configured to prompt a stop in the replication by the polymerase at a desired point, e.g., after replicating through sequences 116 and 114 of oligonucleotide 108 that is included within fragment 118. This may be accomplished by different methods, including, for example, the incorporation of different nucleotides and/or nucleotide analogues that are not capable of being processed by the polymerase enzyme used. For example, this may include the inclusion of uracil containing nucleotides within the sequence to prevent a non-uracil tolerant polymerase to cease replication of that region. As a result a fragment 126 is created that includes the full-length oligonucleotide 108 b at one end, including the barcode sequence 112, the attachment sequence 110, the R1 primer region 114, and the random N-mer sequence 116 b. At the other end of the sequence may be included the complement 116′ to the random N-mer of the first oligonucleotide 108, as well as a complement to all or a portion of the R1 sequence, shown as sequence 114′. The R1 sequence 114 and its complement 114′ are then able to hybridize together to form a partial hairpin structure 128. As can be appreciated because the random N-mers differ among different oligonucleotides, these sequences and their complements would not be expected to participate in hairpin formation, e.g., sequence 116′, which is the complement to random N-mer 116, would not be expected to be complementary to random N-mer sequence 116 b. This would not be the case for other applications, e.g., targeted primers, where the N-mers would be common among oligonucleotides within a given droplet. By forming these partial hairpin structures, it allows for the removal of first level duplicates of the sample sequence from further replication, e.g., preventing iterative copying of copies. The partial hairpin structure also provides a useful structure for subsequent processing of the created fragments, e.g., fragment 126.

All of the fragments from multiple different droplets may then be pooled (e.g., by collecting droplets and destabilizing the emulsion as described elsewhere herein) for sequencing on high throughput sequencers. Because each fragment is coded as to its droplet of origin, the sequence of that fragment may be attributed back to its origin based upon the presence of the barcode.

As can be appreciated, the example amplification scheme depicted in FIGS. 1A-1G may be completed in any suitable type of partition, including non-droplet partitions, such as microcapsules, wells (e.g., microwells), polymeric capsules, microreactors, micelles, etc.

Additional examples of amplification reactions that can be performed in droplets or other types of partitions, including amplification reactions that can be used to generate nucleic acid libraries for sequencing, are provided in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/102,420, filed Jan. 12, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

Releasing Contents of Droplets to Form a Pooled Mixture

Methods described herein provide for releasing the contents of a droplet or a plurality of droplets, such as, for example releasing one or more target molecules from a droplet or plurality of droplets. Generally, the contents of a droplet or a plurality of droplets can contain one or more target molecules and it may be desirable to recover the target molecule(s). A target molecule or target molecules that have been released from a droplet or plurality of droplets are herein referred to as a “released target molecule” or “released target molecules.” Releasing can encompass any method by which the contents of a droplet are liberated. Examples of releasing can include breaking the surface of the droplet, making the droplet porous such that the contents can diffuse out of the droplet, or any other method in which the contents of the droplet would be liberated.

In some cases, a droplet or a plurality of droplets can be destabilized (broken) to release the contents of the droplet(s) into a pooled mixture. For example, destabilizing a droplet or plurality of droplets in an emulsion may comprise destabilizing the emulsion. The terms “destabilize,” “break,” “burst,” and “de-emulsify” may be used interchangeably herein. Methods of destabilizing droplets are known to those of skill in the art. Briefly, droplets in an emulsion can be mixed with a destabilization agent that causes the droplet to destabilize and to coalesce. Coalescence of the droplets can result in the generation of a pooled mixture (e.g., a common pool) comprising the contents of the droplets, including target molecules and any other contents of the droplets (e.g., non-target molecules such as enzymes, additional reaction products, reaction by-products reactants, co-factors, buffers, etc.). In general, the pooled mixture is a liquid mixture. Where the droplets are aqueous droplets, the pooled mixture may comprise an aqueous mixture. The pooled mixture may also comprise any amount of continuous phase (e.g., oil) material in which the droplets were originally dispersed surfactants in the continuous phase, and/or the destabilization agent where applicable. For example, in the case of an aqueous droplet or aqueous droplets comprising a degraded polyacrylamide bead and target molecules and originally dispersed in a fluorinated oil, the pooled mixture may comprise one or more of linear polyacrylamide from the degraded beads, the target molecules and the fluorinated oil.

In some examples, a droplet or plurality of droplets may be collected into a vessel and the destabilization agent may be added to the vessel to form the pooled mixture in the vessel. The term “vessel” as used herein means any container that can hold a liquid mixture. A vessel may include, without limitation, a droplet, a tube, a well, a container, a dish, a flask, a beaker, and the like.

The destabilization agent can be any agent that induces droplets of the emulsion to coalesce with one another. The destabilization agent may be present at an amount effective to induce coalescence, which may be selected based, for example, on the volume of the emulsion, the volume of carrier fluid in the emulsion, and/or the total volume of droplets, among others. The amount also or alternatively may be selected, based, for example, on the type of carrier fluid, amount and type of surfactant in each phase, etc. In exemplary embodiments, the destabilization agent can be added to an emulsion, or vice versa, such that the destabilization agent is present in excess over the continuous phase of the emulsion. The ratio of destabilization agent to continuous phase, by volume, may be at least about 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, among others. In some embodiments, the destabilization agent may be a fluid.

The destabilization agent may be a weak surfactant. Without wishing to be bound by theory, a weak surfactant can compete with droplet surfactant at the oil/aqueous interface causing an emulsion to collapse. In some cases, the destabilization agent is perfluorooctanol (PFO), however, other fluorous compounds with a small hydrophilic group may be used. Other examples of destabilization agents include one or more halogen-substituted hydrocarbons. In some cases, the destabilization agent may be predominantly or at least substantially composed of one or more halogen-substituted hydrocarbons. Each halogen-substituted hydrocarbon may be substituted with one or more halogen substituents provided by the same halogen element (i.e., one or more fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, or astatine substituents) and/or two or more different halogen elements (e.g., at least one fluorine substituent and at least one chlorine substituent, at least one fluorine substituent and at least one bromine substituent, at least one chlorine substituent and at least one bromine substituent, and so on). The halogen-substituted hydrocarbon also optionally may include other non-halogen substituents. In some cases, the halogen-substituted hydrocarbon may have a formula weight of less than about 1000, 500, or 200 daltons, among others. Also or alternatively, the halogen-substituted hydrocarbon may be composed of no more than ten, five, or two carbons. Exemplary halogen-substituted hydrocarbons that may be included in the destabilization agent include chloroform, dichloromethane (methylene chloride), iodomethane, bromochloropropane, or dichlorofluoroethane, among others. The destabilization agent may have a low viscosity and may be capable of denaturing proteins present in the droplets and/or at an interface between the droplets and the carrier fluid. Additional examples of destabilization agents are provided in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013-018970, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

Purifying Target Molecules from a Pooled Mixture

A target molecule(s) partitioned into a droplet(s) may be recovered for use in downstream applications (e.g., target nucleic acid molecules for sequencing). However, the success of downstream applications can be affected by one or more non-target molecules present in the droplets or emulsion comprising the droplets and, thus, a pooled mixture as described above. In some cases, the presence of one or more contaminants in a pooled mixture can negatively impact the success of downstream applications. Therefore, it may be desirable to purify the target molecule(s) from one or more non-target molecule(s) or “contaminants”. A “contaminant” as used herein can generally refer to any non-target substance (i.e., chemical, biological, or otherwise) derived from the contents of a droplet or droplets and present in a pooled mixture generated as described elsewhere herein. Contaminants can include, without limitation, one or more oils (e.g., fluorinated oils), salts, biological materials (e.g., nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, etc), surfactants, polymers (e.g., polymers from degraded polymeric particles, such as linear polyacrylamide from a degraded polymeric particle), reactants, destabilization agents, reaction by-products, additional reaction products, enzymes (e.g., polymerases), primers, co-factors and the like. Contaminants can be components of the droplets, components of the partitioning fluids, components of an enzymatic reaction (e.g., PCR reagents, for example, enzymes, primers, dNTPs, and the like), etc.

Target molecules may be purified from contaminants in a pooled mixture by contacting the target molecules with one or more supports and isolating the supports from the pooled mixture. For example, the one or more supports can be provided to the pooled mixture or a vessel (as described elsewhere herein) comprising the pooled mixture. In such cases, the pooled mixture may comprise the contents of one or more droplets and one or more supports. A support generally refers to any species (e.g., a scaffolding or platform) that can selectively bind one or more target molecules in a pooled mixture. In some cases, the support may be solid or, in other cases, the support may be liquid. Moreover, the support may be essentially of any shape, size or material. In some cases, a support may be a particle, such as, for example, a bead.

The support may have one or more surfaces on which target molecules can bind and is generally separable from the pooled mixture. For example, the support may bind a target molecule in a pooled mixture and then the support can be isolated or separated from the non-target molecules such that the target molecule is also separated from the pooled mixture. A target molecule that has been bound to a support can be referred to herein as a “bound target molecule”.

Binding of target molecules to a support may be through any suitable means, including ionic interactions, hydrophilic/hydrophobic interactions, van der Waals forces, covalent bonds, non-covalent bonds, etc. Binding of a target molecule to the surface of a support may be specific or non-specific. Binding of a target molecule to a support may be specific for a class of target molecules (e.g., specific for nucleic acid molecules such as DNA). In this example, all or substantially all nucleic acid may be bound to the support. In other examples, the support may bind to a specific species of target molecule. In yet further examples, the support may selectively bind to target molecules of a particular size (e.g., the support may selectively bind to nucleic acids greater than 100 basepairs). The surface of the support may inherently bind to a class of target molecules or the surface of the support may be modified to bind to a class of target molecules.

In some examples, a support may be tailored such that particular target molecules can bind. For example, in the case where a target molecule is a nucleic acid (e.g., DNA, mRNA, etc) the surface of a support can tailored to bind nucleic acids by functionalizing the support with one or more species capable of binding nucleic acids. A variety of methods for modifying the surface of a support such that said surface can bind nucleic acids are known. For instance, the support may be modified by any number of polycations. The polycationic support can be selected from a wide variety of inorganic and organic materials including, but not limited to, metal oxides, glasses, polyamides, polyesters, polyolefins, polysaccharides, polyglycols, and polyaminoacids. In some cases, the support may be a silica bead or silica resin. In some cases, the binding of target nucleic acid molecules to one or more supports may be via one or more ionic interactions.

Supports may be modified with any number of polymers that bind nucleic acids. By way of example, without limitation, polymers that bind nucleic acids include dextran, polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polysaccharides (e.g., include dextran, ficoll, glycogen, gum arabic, xanthan gum, carageenan, amylose, agar, amylopectin, xylans, beta-glucans, and many others), chemical resins (isocyanate, glycerol, piperidino-methyl, polyDMAP (polymer-bound dimethyl 4-aminopyridine), DIPAM (Diisopropylaminomethyl), aminomethyl, polystyrene aldehyde, tris(2-aminomethyl) amine, morpholino-methyl, BOBA (3-Benzyloxybenzaldehyde), triphenyl-phosphine, and benzylthio-methyl, and others). It should be understood that surfaces modified with polymers or functional groups can, with some exceptions, bind target nucleic acid molecules without regard to nucleic acid sequence. However, methods in which nucleic acids specifically bind to the surface of a support (i.e., sequence-dependent binding) are also contemplated. In these examples, an oligonucleotide probe may be attached (i.e., via chemical modification) to a support. The oligonucleotide probe may contain a sequence of nucleotides that can selectively bind to a target nucleic acid molecule sequence present in the pooled mixture.

Additional examples of functional groups with which a support may be functionalized include, without limitation, alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, diene, alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, amides, amines, nitriles, thiols, silanols, and the like. In some examples, a support may comprise a silica or silica-like (i.e., modified to incorporate silanol on the surface) functionalization. In some cases, the support can bind nucleic acids. In some cases, the surface of the support can be silica-like and the support can bind nucleic acids.

In some instances, it may be desirable to bind other target molecules to the surface of a support. For example, the target molecule may be a small molecule, a protein, a peptide, and the like. In some aspects, the target molecule may be a protein. Methods of binding proteins to solid supports are well known. For example, the surface of the support may be coated with antibodies and the antibodies may recognize a specific epitope of a protein. In another example, the support may be coated with streptavidin and the target protein molecule may contain a biotin molecule. Streptavidin has a high affinity for biotin and is a commonly used method for pulling down proteins modified with biotin moieties. Other suitable examples may include coating the support with a protein that interacts with the target protein, for example, a surface coated with a receptor protein to bind a ligand present in the pooled mixture.

It may be desirable to provide suitable binding conditions to promote binding of a target molecule to a support. A number of factors can affect the conditions suitable for binding a target molecule to a support. Non-limiting examples of such factors include the surface modification of the support, the type of target molecule, and the composition of the pooled mixture (i.e., chemicals, non-target molecules, etc., present in the pooled mixture). In some embodiments, the pooled mixture may comprise one or more additional agents that aid in binding target molecules to supports. Non-limiting examples of such agents include buffer salts, detergents, enzymes, nuclease inhibitors, chelators, organic solvents, and other organic or inorganic substances.

In some examples, an agent that aids in binding target molecules to one or more supports may comprise a chaotropic agent or chaotrope. “Chaotropic agent” and “chaotrope” are used interchangeably herein. Any suitable concentration of chaotropic agent may be used. For example, the concentration of chaotropic agent used may be from about 0.01 molar (M) to about 20 M. In some cases, the concentration of chaotropic agent used may be from about 0.1 M to about 10 M. In some cases, the concentration of chaotropic agent used may be from about 1 M to about 8 M. In some cases, the concentration of chaotropic agent used may be from about 1M to about 5M. In some cases, the concentration of chaotropic agent used may be about 0.01 M, 0.05M, 0.1M, 0.2 M, 0.3 M, 0.4 M, 0.5 M, 1.0 M, 1.5 M, 2.0 M, 2.5 M, 3.0 M, 3.5 M, 4.0 M, 4.5 M, 5.0 M, 5.5 M, 6.0 M, 6.5 M, 7.0 M, 7.5 M, 8.0 M, 8.5 M, 9.0 M, 9.5 M, 10.0 M, 10.5 M, 11.0 M, 11.5 M, 12.0 M, 12.5 M, 13.5 M, 14.0 M, 14.5 M, 15.0 M, 15.5 M, 16.0 M, 16.5 M, 17.0 M, 17.5 M, 18.0 M, 18.5 M, 19.0 M, 19.5 M, 20.0 M or more.

In some cases, the chaotropic agent may comprise a chaotropic salt. Binding of the nucleic acids on a substrate in the presence of chaotropic reagents may be that adsorption of nucleic acids to a substrate lie in disturbances of higher-order structures of the aqueous medium. Such disturbance can lead to adsorption or denaturation of dissolved nucleic acid on the surface of the glass or silica-gel particles. In the presence of chaotropic salts, such adsorption is enhanced. In some examples, binding of target molecules in a pooled mixture may be binding with a silica particle or silica-coated particle in the presence of a chaotropic salt. In such examples, the target molecule may be a nucleic acid. Moreover, in some cases, polyethylene glycol (PEG) may be present in a pooled mixture to aid in the binding of target molecules (e.g., target nucleic acid molecules) to one or more supports.

In some examples, the chaotropic agent is guanidine thiocyanate (GuSCN), however, essentially any chaotropic agent may be used. In other examples, the chaotropic agent is guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl). Other non-limiting examples of chaotropic agents include, without limitation, urea, sodium perchlorate, lithium perchlorate, lithium acetate, lithium chloride, magnesium chloride, sodium acetate, potassium acetate, potassium chloride, sodium iodide, sodium chloride, ethanol, isopropanol and combinations thereof.

In some cases, a support may comprise at least one component, such as one or more magnetic materials, that is responsive to a magnetic force. In some cases, a support may be entirely magnetic. In some cases, a support may be a magnetic particle, such as a magnetic bead. In such cases, the magnetic particle may be entirely magnetic or may comprise one or more magnetic cores surrounded by one or more additional materials, such as, for example, one or more functional groups and/or modifications for binding one or more target molecules.

In some examples, a support may comprise a magnetic component and a surface modified with one or more silanol groups. Supports of this type may be used for binding target nucleic acid molecules. Silanol-modified magnetic beads are commercially available (AccuBead silica-coated magnetic beads available from Bioneer, silane-modified Dynabeads available from Life Technologies, MagSi beads available from AMSBIO, among others). In some examples, a support may be a magnetic bead or particle and the surface may be functionalized with a plurality of carboxyl groups. Such supports can make use of solid phase reverse immobilization (SPRI) technology. Carboxylated magnetic beads are available from commercial sources, for example, Agencourt AMPure XP SPRI beads available from Beckman-Coulter.

Magnetic materials may be classified according to their magnetic properties. Without wishing to be bound by theory, materials can generally be classified as diamagnetic, paramagnetic, or ferromagnetic. Diamagnetism is a property of all materials and can be a weak magnetic force. When diamagnetism is a magnetic property of a material, the material can be considered “diamagnetic.” Diamagnetic materials can create an induced magnetic field in a direction opposite to an externally applied magnetic field. Paramagnetic materials can be attracted by an externally applied magnetic field and form induced magnetic fields in the direction of the applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetic materials are those that can be become permanently magnetized in the presence of a magnetic field. Examples of magnetic materials that may be included in a support include iron, nickel, cobalt, composites thereof and alloys thereof. In some cases, a magnetic material may include one or more iron-oxides, such as magnetite or maghemite.

One or more magnetic supports can be isolated and/or immobilized by applying a magnetic force to the one or more supports (e.g., magnetic separation). A magnetic force can be applied to one or more supports by exposing the one or more supports to an external magnetic field. Such an external magnetic field may be provided by one or more magnetic sources such as, for example, by one or more magnets (e.g., permanent magnetic, electromagnet, etc.). The magnetic responsiveness of a support to a magnetic force can be useful in isolating a support having bound target molecules from a pooled mixture. Application of a magnetic force to the support can result in separation of the support from other components in a pooled mixture. Accordingly, any molecule (e.g., one or more target molecules) that is also bound to the support, covalently or non-covalently, can also be separated from non-bound components in a pooled mixture. When an external magnetic field is applied to a support, the support can be attracted via magnetic force in the direction of the external magnetic field. The source of an external magnetic field, such as one or more magnets, can be positioned such that a support or a plurality of supports is attracted to one or more specific locations. For example, when one or more supports are provided to a pooled mixture in a vessel, the one or more supports may be positioned at one or more locations (e.g., surfaces) of the vessel. For example, a magnetic source can immobilize a support at the bottom of a vessel. In some cases, a magnetic source can immobilize a support on a wall of a vessel.

Magnetic immobilization/separation of one or more supports at multiple positions within a vessel may be used in purification. Magnetic separation at multiple positions within a vessel may occur simultaneously (e.g., one or more supports simultaneously positioned at a plurality of locations within a vessel) or sequentially (e.g., a first round of magnetic separation at a first location, a second round or magnetic separation at a second location, etc.). For example, one or more magnetic supports may be provided to a vessel comprising a liquid pooled mixture comprising contents of one or more destabilized droplets that comprise one or more target molecules. The one or more supports can bind the target molecule(s) to provide a bound target molecule(s). Following binding of target nucleic acid molecules to the one or more supports, the one or more supports can be immobilized at a first location of the vessel via an external magnetic field as described elsewhere herein, thereby separating or isolating the one or more supports (and associated target nucleic acid molecules) from the pooled mixture. For example, an external magnetic field may be applied to the vessel such that a magnetic support comprising a bound target molecule within the vessel is attracted or pulled towards the first location. The first location may be any portion of a wall of the vessel or the bottom of the vessel Immobilized supports may be in the form of a pellet at the bottom or on the wall of a vessel. Generally, an immobilized support can be segregated in a vessel and the movement of the immobilized support can be restricted (e.g., to the bottom of or the wall of a vessel).

Next, the remnant liquid pooled mixture can be removed from the vessel, without removing immobilized support(s) from the vessel. Removal of the liquid pooled mixture from the vessel may be by any method known of removing a liquid from a vessel, including, but not limited to, pipetting, suctioning, decanting, pouring, and the like. A suspension fluid may then be provided to the vessel and the external magnetic field may be removed from the supports, thereby suspending the support in the suspension fluid. A suspension fluid may be any fluid, aqueous or otherwise, that can be used to release the support from an immobilized state. Essentially any fluid may be used as a suspension fluid, although generally, the suspension fluid can be selected such that it is compatible with the support and the target molecule and such that it will not disrupt the binding of the target molecule to the support. In some cases, the suspension fluid may promote the binding of a target molecule to the support. In some examples, the target molecule may be a target nucleic acid molecule and the suspension fluid may comprise a chaotrope (e.g., guanidine thiocyanate or guanidine hydrochloride). In some cases, the suspension fluid may be a washing agent (e.g., ethanol, isopropanol, acetone, etc.) as described elsewhere herein. Suspending a support may involve the addition of a suspension fluid to the vessel and then physically agitating the support, such as by pipetting or vortexing.

The suspended support(s) comprising the bound target molecule(s) may then be immobilized at a second location of the vessel, thereby separating the support(s) and associated bound target molecule(s) from the suspension fluid. The second location of the vessel may be the same location as the first location of the vessel or may be a different than the first location of the vessel. For example, an external magnetic source may be applied to the vessel such that the magnetic support comprising a bound target molecule within the vessel is attracted or pulled towards the second location. The second location may be any portion of a wall of the vessel or may be at the bottom of the vessel Immobilizing a magnetic support at a first location and a different second location may be accomplished by adjusting the location of the applied external magnetic field (e.g., adjusting the positioning of one or more magnetic sources providing the applied external magnetic field). Devices described elsewhere herein may be useful in adjusting the positioning of one or more magnetic sources (and associated external magnetic fields).

One or more magnetic sources may be provided in a device that can receive one or more vessels such that the magnetic source(s) immobilize one or more supports to one or more surfaces of the one or more vessels. The device may comprise one or more holders or receptacles for receiving one or more vessels, where each holder or receptacle is associated with one or more magnetic sources that provide an external magnetic field to each respective vessel. In some cases, such a magnetic source may comprise one or more magnets. In such cases, the one or more magnetic sources may be positioned in such a way that the one or more magnetic supports are drawn towards a particular portion of the vessel (e.g., a surface of the vessel, a wall of the vessel, the bottom of the vessel, etc.). In some cases, a position of a magnetic source in a device may be adjustable such that the external magnetic field generated by the magnetic source can be adjusted to immobilize one or more supports at a variety of locations within a vessel. In some examples, one or more magnetic sources may be included in a sliding rack also a part of a device. In such a configuration, the position of the one or more magnetic sources may be adjusted by moving the sliding rack (e.g., moving the sliding rack up and down) to a desired position. A device may also include a latch or other component suitable for immobilizing a sliding rack at a desired position. A device having an adjustable magnetic source can be useful in cases where magnetic separation at different locations of a vessel, as described elsewhere herein, is desirable. In some cases, a device may comprise a plurality of magnetic sources associated with a receptacle for receiving a vessel, where each of the magnets is positioned at a different location with respect to the receptacle. In some cases, repositioning of a magnetic source and associated external magnetic field within a device may be achieved by repositioning the entire device, such as flipping the device over, rotating the device, etc. In some cases, repositioning of a vessel within a device may, with respect to the vessel, result in repositioning of an applied external magnetic field exerted by a magnetic source of the device. As can be appreciated any suitable combination of repositioning a magnetic source, repositioning of a device comprising a magnetic source, and repositioning a vessel within a device may be used to position supports at multiple locations of a vessel. Moreover, a device may comprise a plurality of receptacles and accompanying magnetic sources such that a plurality of vessels can be processed in parallel. Any suitable number of receptacles and accompanying magnetic sources may be included.

An example device suitable for performing magnetic separations, including those described herein, is schematically depicted in various views in FIGS. 6A-6C. FIGS. 6A and 6B show front (FIG. 6A) and back (FIG. 6B) views of an example magnetic separation device 600. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, magnetic separation device 600 comprises a body 601 that comprises a series of eight receptacles 602 on its top side each capable of receiving a vessel 603. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a series of vessels 603 may be provided to the device in a single strip, such that each vessel in the strip is positioned to be received by an individual receptacle 602. The bottom side of device 600 also comprises a series of eight receptacles (not shown in FIG. 6A or 6B) 606 that correspond to receptacles 602 on the top side of magnetic separation device 600. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6A, the front side of magnetic separation device 600 comprises a series of receptacles 604 that each correspond to one of the receptacles 602. Each of these receptacles is capable of receiving and positioning one or more magnets 605 (e.g., two magnets positioned back-to-back for magnetic device 600). Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6B, magnetic separation device 600 comprises a viewing window 607 for each of the receptacles 602. Such viewing windows 607 can aid in observing a magnetic separation in a vessel placed in a receptacle 602.

FIG. 6C shows a side view of magnetic separation device 600, showing a vessel 603 placed in a receptacle 602. As shown in FIG. 6C, when vessel 603 is placed in receptacle 602, magnets 605 are positioned near or at the bottom of vessel 603. Magnets 605 can exert a magnetic field and apply a magnetic force to magnetic material (e.g., one or more magnetic supports) in vessel 603 such that the magnetic material is immobilized on a wall near or at the bottom of the vessel 603. Moreover, magnetic separation device 600 also comprises receptacles 606 at its bottom side, such that when the device 600 is flipped over (e.g., rotated approximately 180 degrees with respect to the view shown in FIG. 6C), receptacles 606 are then positioned to receive vessels 603. When a vessel 603 is placed in a receptacle 606, magnets 605 are positioned at a higher, different location of vessel 603 than when vessel 603 is placed into receptacle 602. Magnets 605 can exert a magnetic field and apply a magnetic force to magnetic material (e.g., one or more magnetic supports) in vessel 603 such that the magnetic material is immobilized at the higher location of vessel 603.

FIG. 6D shows an example use of magnetic separation device 600. As shown in FIG. 6D (top panel), magnetic separation device 600 is positioned such that receptacles 606 receive vessels 603. In this orientation of magnetic separation device 600, magnets 605 are positioned at a “high” location of vessels 603. Magnets 605 can exert a magnetic force on magnetic material (e.g., one or more magnetic supports) in vessels 603 such that the magnetic material is immobilized at the “high” location of vessels 603. Magnetic separation in the windows can be observed through viewing windows 607.

The vessels 603 can then be removed from magnetic separation device 600 such that the immobilized magnetic material in vessels 603 is released. Release may be further facilitated by addition of a wash fluid and agitation (e.g., via vortexing or pipetting). Magnetic separation device 600 may be flipped over 609 (e.g., rotated approximately 180 degrees) such that receptacles 602 receive vessels 603, as shown in FIG. 6D (bottom panel). In this orientation of magnetic separation device 600, magnets 605 are positioned at a “low” location (e.g., a location lower than the “high” location of vessels 603, such as at or near the bottom of the vessels) of vessels 603. Magnets 605 can exert a magnetic force on magnetic material (e.g., one or more magnetic supports) in vessels 603 such that the magnetic material is immobilized at the “low” position of vessels 603. Magnetic separation in the windows can be observed through viewing windows 607.

While only magnetic separation device 600 is shown as capable of processing up to eight vessels in parallel, it can be appreciated that magnetic separation device 600 could include any suitable number of receptacles and accompanying magnets for parallel processing of vessels of fewer or greater numbers of vessels.

Another example device suitable for performing magnetic separations, including those described herein, is schematically depicted in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7A, magnetic separation device 700 comprises a series of eight receptacles 701 and a series of eight corresponding receptacles 702 each series capable of receiving vessels 703. When magnetic separation device 700 is in position 700A, receptacles 701 are capable of receiving vessels 703. The vessels 703 are positioned such that they are each in proximity to a set of magnets (e.g., two magnets positioned back-to-back are shown for each set as in FIG. 7C), that are positioned to exert a magnetic force at a “high” position of the vessels 703. Such a force can immobilize magnetic material (e.g., one or more supports) in vessels 703 at the “high” position of the vessels 703. As shown in FIG. 7C, each magnet of a magnet set is housed in magnetic separation device 700 in a recess 705. Additional views (top 710, side 720 and bottom 730) of magnetic separation device 700 (when in position 700A) are shown in FIG. 7B.

Upon flipping magnetic separation device 700 over 706 (e.g., rotating magnetic separation device 700 approximately 180 degrees), magnetic separation device is in position 700B, as shown in FIG. 7A. When magnetic separation device 700 is in position 700B, receptacles 702 are capable of receiving vessels 703. The vessels 703 are positioned to their corresponding set of magnets now positioned to exert a magnetic force at a “low” position of the vessels 703 (e.g., near or at the bottom of vessels 703). Such a force can immobilize magnetic material (e.g., one or more supports) in vessels 703 at the “low” position of the vessels 703.

Another example device suitable for performing magnetic separations, including those described herein, is schematically depicted in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8A, magnetic separation device 800 comprises a body 801 and a series of eight corresponding receptacles 802 each series capable of receiving vessels 803. Magnets 805 are included within receptacles 804 as shown in FIG. 8A. Magnetic separation device 800 includes the features and uses as described for the devices of FIGS. 6 and 7. In addition, the magnetic separation device 800 includes scoops 806 to facilitate access and physical manipulation of vessels 803 in use. As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, concave scoops 806 can be position at distal ends of body 801 and adjacent to receptacles 803.

Another example device suitable for performing magnetic separations, including those described herein, is schematically depicted in FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9A, magnetic separation device 900 comprises two parallel series of eight receptacles 902, for a total of sixteen receptacles each capable of receiving up to sixteen vessels 903. Magnetic separation device 900 includes the features and uses as described for the devices of FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. FIG. 9A additionally shows interlocking ends 908 features for coupling multiple magnetic separation devices 900 in series.

FIG. 9B is a detail schematic of magnetic separation device 900, showing the positioning of receptacles 902 and 906, in relation to vessels 903 and magnets 905 within base 901.

FIG. 9C shows how interlocking ends 908 features can be connected for coupling multiple magnetic separation devices 900 in series.

It should be understood that other methods of separating supports from a pooled mixture can be used. In some examples, one or more supports may be separated using centrifugation. In this case, one or more supports with bound target molecules can be centrifuged such that the supports are pelleted at the bottom of a vessel. Examples of support materials useful for centrifugation separation may include, without limitation, agarose beads, gel beads, glass beads, and the like. Essentially any support with a density greater than the mixture it is contained within can be separated using centrifugation.

After one more supports comprising one or more bound target molecules are separated from a pooled mixture, the non-separated components of the pooled mixture can be removed by, for example, removing the remnant mixture. Any method of removing the non-separated components of the pooled mixture may be used. Such methods of removing may include, without limitation, pipetting, decanting, pouring, suctioning (e.g., by a vacuum), evaporating, sublimating, vaporizing, and the like.

A support that is been separated from a pooled mixture may be washed in one or more cycles to further remove any remaining undesired components associated with the supports. For example, prior to releasing a bound target molecule(s) from one or more supports, the supports may be washed in one or more wash steps by contacting the supports with a washing agent. In general, the supports can be washed with a washing agent that is compatible with both the support and the bound target molecule. The washing agent can be selected such that it does not disrupt the binding of the target molecule(s) to the support(s). For example, washing target nucleic acids bound to a support may be carried out with an alcohol, for example, ethanol or isopropanol. Alternatively, the washing agent may be an organic solvent (e.g., acetone). A washing step may comprise a step of mixing the support with the washing agent (i.e., pipetting the support up and down, vortexing, etc.). In this case, another step of separating may be necessary to separate the support from the washing agent (e.g., reapplying a magnetic field to a vessel to separate magnetic supports from the washing agent, centrifugation, etc.). Any suitable separation method can be utilized including purification methods described herein. In some examples, the supports may not be washed. In some instances, more than one wash step may be desired, e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or more wash steps.

Following purification, bound target molecules can be recovered from the one or more supports for downstream applications or for further processing. Recovery can be achieved by releasing or eluting the bound target molecules from the one or more supports. For example, releasing bound target molecules may be may include containing the one or more supports with an elution agent that aids in releasing bound target molecules from the supports. Contacting the one or more supports with elution agent may comprise mixing the supports with the elution agent (e.g., pipetting up and down, vortexing, etc.). An elution agent can be selected such that it can effectively release the bound target molecules from the supports. Non-limiting examples of elution agents include water, Tris buffer, phosphate buffer, and sodium hydroxide. In some cases, bound nucleic acid molecules can be eluted in a buffer of low ionic strength (e.g., TE buffer, or a similar buffer).

In some examples, release of target molecules from one or more supports may be achieved with heating of the supports. The supports may be heated to 50° C., 51° C., 52° C., 53° C., 54° C., 55° C., 56° C., 57° C., 58° C., 59° C., 60° C., 61° C., 62° C., 63° C., 64° C., 65° C., 66° C., 67° C., 68° C., 69° C., 70° C., 71° C., 72° C., 73° C., 74° C., 75° C., 76° C., 77° C., 78° C., 79° C., 80° C., 81° C., 82° C., 83° C., 84° C., 85° C., 86° C., 87° C., 88° C., 89° C., 90° C., 91° C., 92° C., 93° C., 94° C., 95° C., 96° C., 97° C., 98° C., 99° C., or 100° C. In some examples, releasing target molecules from supports may comprise adding an elution agent to the supports and then heating the supports.

Target molecules released from supports may be further purified. For example, released target molecules (e.g., target nucleic acid molecules) and from the supports may be subjected to a solid phase reverse immobilization (SPRI) process. For example, released target molecules may be contacted with SPRI beads in a mixture under appropriate binding conditions such that the released target molecules bind to the SPRI beads. In a matter similar to that described elsewhere herein, the SPRI beads containing the bound target molecules may be subjected to an external magnetic field such that the SPRI beads are pulled towards the external magnetic field, thereby separating the SPRI beads from other components of the mixture. The SPRI beads may optionally undergo one or more washing steps as is discussed above. The target molecules can then be released from the SPRI beads via an elution agent and/or heating, as is discussed above.

It can be understood that further purification of one or more target molecules may be optional and can generally be based upon the level of purity desired for downstream applications. In some cases, a single round of purification may be sufficient. For example, a method may comprise binding target molecules to a single plurality of supports (e.g., magnetic particles such as Dynabeads), followed by separation/isolation and any washing of the supports. In some cases, it may be useful to combine a first round of purification and a second round of purification. For example, a method may comprise binding target molecules to a first plurality of supports (e.g., magnetic particles such as Dynabeads), followed by separation/isolation and any washing of the first supports; releasing the target molecules from the first supports; and subsequently binding the target molecules to a second plurality of supports (e.g., magnetic particles such as SPRI beads), followed by separation/isolation and any washing of the second supports. Additional rounds of purification need not be a SPRI process but may comprise any other steps that have been disclosed herein. Moreover, greater than two rounds of purification may be completed, including up to 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20 rounds of purification or more.

As can be appreciated, the purification methods described herein may be used to purify one or more target molecules from any suitable type of partition or plurality of partitions, including non-droplet partitions. A suitable partition can be any partition from which the contents of the partition can be released and/o recovered. Non-limiting examples of such partitions include wells (e.g., microwells), microcapsules, tubes, containers, spots, microreactors, micelles and polymeric capsules. Moreover, the contents of a partition or a plurality of partitions may be released from the partitions and pooled into a pooled mixture. One or more target molecules may be recovered from the pooled mixture using one or more purification methods as described herein.

Further Processing and Analysis of Purified Target Molecules

Target molecules that have been recovered from droplets and purified can subject to further processing and/or analysis. In some cases, purification of target molecules can aid in performing cleaner or more efficient further processing of target molecules. For example, a purified target nucleic acid molecule may function as a template for an amplification reaction, such as polymerase chain reaction or other type of amplification reaction. One or more amplification reactions may be completed using the purified target nucleic acid molecules in order to provide an amplified number of target nucleic acid molecules. Such further processing may be particularly useful where recovered, purified nucleic acid molecules are initially present in low amounts and greater copy numbers are needed for downstream analysis. Moreover, one or more amplification reactions of purified target nucleic acid molecules may be completed in bulk and may be used to add one or more additional sequences (e.g., append additional nucleotides) to the purified target nucleic acid molecules. Such additional sequences can result in the generation of larger nucleic acid molecules (e.g., larger target nucleic acid molecules) and the one or more added sequences may be one or more functional sequences. Non-limiting examples of such functional sequences include a tag, a barcode sequence, an adapter sequence for sequence compatibility with a sequencing instrument/protocol (e.g., P5, P7 Illumina adaptor sequences), a primer (e.g., a random N-mer), a sequencing primer binding site, a sample index sequence, etc. Examples of adding additional sequences to nucleic acid molecules via an amplification reaction (including a bulk amplification reactions) are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/316,383, filed Jun. 26, 2014 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/102,420, filed Jan. 12, 2015, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

In some cases, one or more additional sequences may be added to target nucleic acid molecules (or amplified target nucleic acid molecules) via a ligation process to generate larger target nucleic acid molecules. In some cases, the target nucleic acid molecules may be subject to a shearing process in order to generate one or more ends of the target nucleic acid molecules that are suitable for ligation with an additional nucleic acid sequence. The additional nucleic acid sequence may comprise one or more of any of the functional sequences described herein. Examples of shearing and ligation methods that can be used for adding additional sequences to nucleic acid molecules are provided in detail in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/102,420, filed Jan. 12, 2015, the full disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Upon addition of the additional sequence(s) to the target nucleic acid molecules, the larger sequences that are generated can be amplified to provide greater copy numbers. Shearing, ligation and any subsequent amplification can be performed in bulk.

Purified target nucleic acid molecules (that may or may not be further processed) or purified nucleic acid molecules to which one or more additional sequences have been appended (e.g., larger target nucleic acid molecules) may be subject to nucleic acid sequencing, whereby a sequence of the purified target nucleic acid molecules or larger target nucleic acid molecules is determined. The addition of additional functional sequences to purified target nucleic acid molecules may be useful in preparing target nucleic acid molecules for sequencing. Purified target nucleic acid molecules may be prepared for any suitable sequencing platform and sequenced, with appropriate functional sequences added to purified target nucleic acid molecules where needed. Sequencing may be performed via any suitable type of sequencing platform, with non-limiting examples that include Illumina, Ion Torrent, Pacific Biosciences SMRT, Roche 454 sequencing, SOLiD sequencing, etc. As can be appreciated, sequences obtained from nucleic acid molecules can be assembled into larger sequences from which the sequence of the nucleic acid molecules originated. In general, sequencing platforms make use of one or more algorithms to interpret sequencing data and reconstruct larger sequences.

Methods described herein can be used to prepare and sequence a nucleic acid molecule library. In some cases, a library of nucleic acid molecules can be generated, wherein the library comprises a plurality of droplets or other type of partitions comprising the nucleic acid molecules. Examples of preparing a library of nucleic acid molecules in partitions are provided in detail in e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/316,383, filed Jun. 26, 2014, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/017,808, filed Jun. 26, 2014 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/102,420, filed Jan. 12, 2015 (the full disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes). Where the library of nucleic acid molecules comprises a plurality of droplets having the nucleic acid molecules, the plurality of droplets can be destabilized, thereby releasing the nucleic acid molecules from the plurality of droplets into a common pool. The nucleic acid molecules (e.g., target nucleic acid molecules) can be recovered/purified from the common pool using one or more of any of the purification methods described herein. The purified nucleic acid molecules can optionally be subject to further processing as described elsewhere herein and subject to sequencing, whereby the sequences of at least a subset of the purified nucleic acid molecules (or further processed purified nucleic acid molecules) can be determined Sequencing may be performed via any suitable type of sequencing platform including example platforms described elsewhere herein.

Kits

The disclosure further provides for one or more kits. The one or more kits may comprise the reagents and/or devices sufficient for performing the methods provided in this disclosure. For example, the one or more kits may comprise the reagents and/or devices sufficient for purifying a target nucleic acid molecule from a droplet or other type of partition. Accordingly, the one or more kits may include one or more of the following reagents, without limitation: a destabilization agent, a chaotrope, a washing agent, an elution agent, and a support (e.g., a magnetic support). In some instances, the one or more kits may comprise a device (e.g., a magnetic device) for separating supports from a pooled mixture. In some cases, a kit may comprise reagents suitable for generating an emulsion. Non-limiting examples of such reagents include a continuous phase (e.g., oil) and an aqueous phase (e.g., a buffer). The one or more kits may further comprise packaging (i.e., a box). The reagents and the device may be packaged into a single kit. Alternatively, the reagents and the device may be packaged separately. The kits may further comprise instructions for usage of the kit. These instructions may be in the form of a paper document or booklet contained within the packaging of the kit. Alternatively, the instructions may be provided electronically (i.e., on the Internet).

EXAMPLES

The following examples are given for the purpose of illustrating various embodiments of the invention and are not meant to limit the present invention in any fashion. The present examples, along with the methods described herein are presently representative of preferred embodiments, are exemplary, and are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention. Changes therein and other uses which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the claims will occur to those skilled in the art.

Example 1 Example Workflow

FIG. 2 illustrates an example workflow for generating and sequencing a nucleic acid library. As shown in FIG. 2, the example workflow provides for obtaining sample nucleic acids, generating barcoded nucleic acids from the sample nucleic acids, purifying the barcoded nucleic acids, and subsequently sequencing the barcoded nucleic acids. First, a sample comprising nucleic acids may be obtained from a source, 200, and a set of barcoded beads may also be obtained, 210. The beads can be linked to oligonucleotides containing one or more barcode sequences, as well as a primer, such as a random N-mer or other primer. The barcode sequences can be releasable from the barcoded beads, e.g., through cleavage of a linkage between the barcode and the bead or through degradation of the underlying bead to release the barcode, or a combination of the two. For example, in some cases, the barcoded beads can be degraded or dissolved by an agent, such as a reducing agent to release the barcode sequences. In this example, sample comprising nucleic acids, 205, barcoded beads, 215, and optionally other reagents, e.g., a reducing agent, 220, are combined and subjected to partitioning. By way of example, such partitioning may involve introducing the components to a droplet generation system, such as a microfluidic device, 225. With the aid of the microfluidic device 225, a water-in-oil emulsion 230 may be formed, wherein the emulsion contains aqueous droplets that contain sample nucleic acid, 205, reducing agent, 220, and barcoded beads, 215. The reducing agent may dissolve or degrade the barcoded beads, thereby releasing the oligonucleotides with the barcodes and random N-mers from the beads within the droplets, 235. The random N-mers may then prime different regions of the sample nucleic acid, resulting in amplified copies of the sample after amplification (e.g., target nucleic acid molecules), wherein each copy is tagged with a barcode sequence, 240 (“barcoded nucleic acids”). In some cases, each droplet may contain a set of oligonucleotides that contain identical barcode sequences and different random N-mer sequences. Subsequently, the emulsion is broken to form a pooled mixture, 245 in a vessel. A plurality of magnetic supports is contacted with the pooled mixture in the presence of a chaotrope such that the barcoded nucleic acids bind to the magnetic supports, 250. An external magnetic field is applied to the pooled mixture such that the magnetic supports are pelleted, 255. The supernatant is removed and the barcoded nucleic acids are released from the magnetic supports, 260 via the action of one or more elution agents. The process of applying an external magnetic field and pelleting the supports may be repeated for one or more cycles (with the addition and removal of fluid in each cycle) prior to release of the barcoded nucleic acids from the beads. The released barcoded nucleic acids may be subject to further processing, 265. For example, additional sequences (e.g., sequences that aid in particular sequencing methods, additional barcodes, etc.) may be added to the barcoded nucleic acids, via, for example, amplification methods (e.g., PCR or other amplification reaction) and/or ligation methods. Sequencing may then be performed on the barcoded nucleic acids, 270, and one or more algorithms applied to interpret the sequencing data, 275. Sequencing algorithms can be, for example, of performing analysis of barcodes to align sequencing reads and/or identify the sample from which a particular sequence read belongs.

Example 2 Example Purification Methods

FIGS. 3A-3F provide an example method for purifying target nucleic acid molecules from aqueous droplets in an emulsion using magnetic supports and a magnetic separation device. Aqueous droplets encapsulating a plurality of target nucleic acid molecules in an emulsion were collected into a high profile strip comprising 8 tubes. Each tube in the strip contained an emulsion comprising a plurality of aqeuous droplets in fluorocarbon oil (having a fluorosurfactant) comprising a plurality of target nucleic acid molecules. The droplets had an approximate volume of 360 picoliters (pL). 125 microliters (μL) of perfluorooctanol (PFO) was added to each tube and the strip was vortexed to to destabilize the emulsion and the droplets (FIG. 3A), resulting in the release of the contents of the droplets into a pooled mixture in each tube. The oil/PFO phase separated to the bottom of the tubes/pooled mixtures and the aqueous phase containing the target nucleic acid molecules separated to the top of the tubes/pooled mixtures. 135 μL of the oil/PFO phases was carefully pipetted out of each tube so as not to disrupt the aqueous phase (FIG. 3B). As shown in FIG. 3B, each tube contained a small remnant volume of oil/PFO at its bottom after removal of the 135 μL of the oil/PFO phases.

180-200 μL of a mixture comprising 3.5 μg/μL silanized Dynabeads (Life Technologies) and a chaotropic salt (5.5 M), guanidine thiocyanate (GuSCN) were added to each tube and the mixtures were mixed via pipeting to bind target nucleic acid molecules to the Dynabeads (FIG. 3C). After an incubation period of 10 min, the strip of tubes was placed into a magnetic separation device (FIG. 3D). As shown in FIGS. 3D-F, the magnetic separation device comprised a plurality of receptacles each associated with a set of magnets (e.g., two magnets positioned contacting each other back-to-back). Each receptacle was capable of receiving a tube of the strip, such that the strip of tubes was placed in the device and each respective magnet set exerted a magnetic force on Dynabeads in respective tubes. The positioning of the device as a whole determined whether each respective magnet set was in a “high” or “low” position with respect to each receptacle/tube. In a first position of the device, the magnet sets were positioned at a “high” position. After a 4 minute incubation in the magnetic device, the Dynabeads were pulled to the walls of the tubes (high position) such that the Dynabeads were isolated from the pooled mixture. The pooled mixture (e.g., supernatant) was pipetted out of the tube leaving behind a pellet of Dynabeads attached to each of the walls of the tubes.

The Dynabeads were washed with ethanol (EtOH) and the tubes removed from the device resulting in resuspension of the beads in the EtOH in each tube. After the EtOH wash, the magnetic device was flipped over and the strip of tubes was placed back into the device. At this second position of the device, the magnet sets were positioned at a “low” position. After another 4 minute incubation, the Dynabeads were pulled to bottom walls of the tubes (low position) (FIG. 3E). The EtOH was removed and the Dynabeads were again washed with EtOH. The strip of tubes was once again placed into the second side of the magnetic device such that the Dynabeads were pulled to the bottom of the strip tube (low position) (FIG. 3F). The EtOH wash was removed. The target nucleic acid molecules were eluted off of the Dynabeads with 52 μL of elution buffer comprising 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer at pH 8.5 (FIG. 3F).

The target nucleic acid molecules were optionally further processed with SPRI beads. In this optional step, the target nucleic acid molecules were contacted with SPRI beads in the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to bind the target nucleic acid molecules to the SPRI beads. The SPRI beads underwent another round of magnetic separation and washing steps as described above. The target nucleic acid molecules were eluted from the SPRI beads and collected, subjected to further processing to add additional sequences suitable for Illumina sequencing and sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 2500 sequencer.

Example 3 Example Purification Methods

To test example one-step purification methods (e.g., purification with only one set of supports) versus an example two-step purification method (e.g., purification with a first set of supports, followed by further purification with a second set of supports), the example methods were compared side-by-side. 2 ng of 20 kb DNA was co-partitioned with barcoded polyacrylamide beads (e.g., beads comprising primers having a barcode sequence and a random N-mer primer sequence as described elsewhere herein) in aqueous droplets within a fluorinated oil continuous phase having a fluorosurfactant using a microfluidic partitioning system (See, e.g., U.S. Patent Application No. 61/977,804, filed Apr. 4, 2014, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes), where the aqueous droplets also included dNTPs, thermostable DNA polymerase and other reagents for carrying out amplification within the droplets, as well as a chemical activator (e.g., reducing agent) for releasing the barcode oligonucleotides from the beads.

Following bead dissolution (e.g., via disruption of disulfide bonds of the beads), the droplets were thermocycled to allow for primer extension of the barcode oligonucleotides against the template of the sample nucleic acids within each droplet. This resulted in the generation of barcoded copy fragments of the sample nucleic acids that included the barcode sequence representative of the originating partition, as described elsewhere herein. Four replicate samples of droplets having barcoded copy fragments were generated.

After generation of the barcoded copy fragments, the emulsion in each sample was destabilized with the addition of perfluorooctanol (PFO). This resulted in destabilization of the droplets and the generation of pooled mixture containing the contents of the droplets in each sample. Purification of the barcoded copy fragments from the pooled mixtures was performed using a magnetic device as described in Example 2 above and using 4 different purification methods, similar to those described in Example 2. Three of the methods (Method 1, Method 2, Method 3) included binding of barcoded copy fragments to varied amounts of single set of Dynabeads in a single purification step, whereas the fourth method included a two-step purification, whereby barcoded copy fragments were bound to a first set of Dynabeads, released and then bound to a second set of SPRI beads. Each of the four samples was processed with one of the four purification methods, where the amount of Dynabeads added was controlled by volume of Dynabead and chaotrope mixture (as in Example 2) added to pooled mixtures. A summary of the methods is as follows:

-   -   Method 1: One-step: Dynabeads only (200 μL mixture added) (D 200         μL in FIG. 4A)     -   Method 2: One-step: Dynabeads only (190 μL mixture added) (D 190         μL in FIG. 4A)     -   Method 3: One-step: Dynabeads only (180 μL mixture added) (D 180         μL in FIG. 4A)     -   Method 4: Two-step: Dynabeads (200 μL mixture added) followed by         SPRI beads (D 200 μL+SPRI in FIG. 4A)

Purified barcoded copy fragments were analyzed for yield and those obtained from Methods 1 and 4 were subject to further processing to add appropriate adaptors to the purified barcoded copy fragments for Illumina Sequencing followed by whole genome sequencing (WGS) of the nucleic acid molecules on an Illumina sequencer. Data obtained from the experiments in shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4A graphically depicts product yields of the various purification methods. Methods 1 and 2 generated higher product yields than Methods 3 and 4, suggesting that a one-step purification method could result in higher yields when compared to a two-step purification method or other one-step purification methods employing a lower amount of Dynabeads. Moreover, Methods 1-4 were effective in lowering linear polyacrylamide (LPA) (e.g., resulting from dissolution of polyacrylamide beads) from the barcoded copy fragments, which aided in further processing of purified copy fragments to add appropriate adaptors for sequencing.

FIG. 4B graphically depicts sequencing data obtained from the experiments and further suggests that a one-step purification method can be comparable to or even an improvement over a two-step method. As shown in FIG. 4B, the table illustrates the results of sequencing on the barcoded, copy amplified fragments of Method 1 and Method 4. Method1 had a higher effective amplification rate and a higher effective barcode diversity as compared to Method 4 and similar unmapped fractions during sequencing.

Example 4 Example Purification Methods

To test an example one-step purification methods (e.g., purification with only one set of supports) versus an example two-step purification method (e.g., purification with a first set of supports, followed by further purification with a second set of supports), the example methods were compared side-by-side. 1 ng of 20 kb DNA was co-partitioned with barcoded polyacrylamide beads (e.g., beads comprising primers having a barcode sequence and a random N-mer primer sequence as described elsewhere herein) in aqueous droplets within a fluorinated oil continuous phase having a fluorosurfactant using a microfluidic partitioning system (See, e.g., U.S. Patent Application No. 61/977,804, filed Apr. 4, 2014, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes), where the aqueous droplets also included dNTPs, thermostable DNA polymerase and other reagents for carrying out amplification within the droplets, as well as a chemical activator (e.g., reducing agent) for releasing the barcode oligonucleotides from the beads.

Following bead dissolution (e.g., via disruption of disulfide bonds of the beads), the droplets were thermocycled to allow for primer extension of the barcode oligonucleotides against the template of the sample nucleic acids within each droplet. This resulted in the generation of barcoded copy fragments of the sample nucleic acids that included the barcode sequence representative of the originating partition, as described elsewhere herein. Six replicate samples of droplets having barcoded copy fragments were generated.

After generation of the barcoded copy fragments, the emulsion in each sample was destabilized with the addition of perfluorooctanol (PFO). This resulted in destabilization of the droplets and the generation of a pooled mixture containing the contents of the droplets for each sample. Purification of the barcoded copy fragments from the pooled mixtures was performed using a magnetic device as described in Example 2 above and using 3 different purification methods, similar to those described in Example 2. Two purification methods included binding of barcoded copy fragments to varied volumes of a single set of Dynabeads in a single purification step, whereas the third method included a two-step purification, whereby barcoded copy fragments were bound to a first set of Dynabeads, released and then bound to a second set of SPRI beads. Each of the six samples was processed with one of the three purification methods, where the amount of Dynabeads added was controlled by volume of Dynabead and chaotrope mixture (as in Example 2) added to pooled mixtures. A summary of the methods is as follows:

Method 1: One-step: Dynabeads only (200 μL mixture added)

Method 2: One-step: Dynabeads only (190 μL mixture added)

Method 3: Two-step: Dynabeads (200 μL mixture added) followed by SPRI beads

Purified barcoded copy fragments were analyzed for yield. Data obtained from the experiments in shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 graphically depicts product yields of the various purification methods. Both one-step methods (Method 1 and 2) generated higher yields than the two-step method (Method 3). The data suggest that a one-step purification method could result in higher yields when compared to a two-step purification method.

Example 5 Example Purification Methods

Genomic DNA from the NA12878 human cell line is subjected to size based separation of fragments using a Blue Pippin DNA sizing system to recover fragments that are approximately 10 kb in length. The size selected sample nucleic acids are then copartitioned with barcoded beads in aqueous droplets within a fluorinated oil continuous phase using a microfluidic partitioning system (See, e.g., U.S. Patent Application No. 61/977,804, filed Apr. 4, 2014, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes), where the aqueous droplets also include dNTPs, thermostable DNA polymerase and other reagents for carrying out amplification within the droplets, as well as a chemical activator (e.g., a reducing agent) for releasing the barcode oligonucleotides from the beads. This is repeated both for 1 ng of total input DNA and 2 ng of total input DNA. The barcoded beads are obtained as a subset of a stock library that represents barcode diversity of over 700,000 different barcode sequences. The barcode containing oligonucleotides include additional sequence components and have the general structure:

Bead-P5-BC-R1-Nmer

Where P5 and R1 refer to the Illumina attachment and Read1 primer sequences, respectively, BC denotes the barcode portion of the oligonucleotide, and N-mer denotes a random N-mer priming sequence used to prime the template nucleic acids. See, e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/316,383, filed Jun. 26, 2014, the full disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

Following bead dissolution, the droplets are thermocycled to allow for primer extension of the barcode oligos against the template of the sample nucleic acids within each droplet. Thermocycling results in generation of barcoded copy fragments of the sample nucleic acids that include the barcode sequence representative of the originating partition, in addition to the other included sequences set forth above. Such an amplification reaction is described in more detail elsewhere herein.

After generation of the barcoded copy fragments, the emulsion of droplets including the barcoded copy fragments are destabilized with the addition of a perfluorooctanol (PFO). This results in a pooled mixture containing the contents of the droplets. The pooled mixture is contacted with Dynabeads MyOne Silane Beads (Life Technologies) in the presence of guanidine thiocyanate (GuSCN) to promote the binding of the barcoded copy fragments to the Dynabeads. The vessel containing the pooled mixture is placed into the holder of a magnetic device such that the Dynabeads are pulled to the wall of the vessel. The supernatant is removed and the Dynabeads are washed with 70% ethanol and vortexed to mix. The device is then flipped over and the vessel containing the pooled mixture is placed into the holder of the magnetic device such that the Dynabeads are pulled to the bottom of the vessel. The supernatant (washing agent) is removed. An elution agent is added to the Dynabeads and the mixture is heated to 65° C. to elute the amplified fragments off of the Dynabeads. The eluted barcoded copy fragments are collected, further processed to add any additional functional sequences desired and/or necessary for Illumina sequencing and sequenced on an Illumina sequencer.

In some cases, prior to further processing, the eluted barcoded copy fragments are collected and further purified by contacting the eluted barcoded copy fragments with SPRI beads (Beckman-Coulter) in the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) such that the eluted barcoded copy fragments bind to the SPRI beads. The SPRI beads undergo another round of separating (magnetic), washing, separating, and eluting to provide further purified barcoded copy fragments. Following further purification the further purified barcoded copy fragments can be further processed to add any additional sequences desired and/or necessary for Illumina sequencing and sequenced on an Illumina sequencer.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention. It is intended that the following claims define the scope of the invention and that methods and structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for purifying a target molecule, comprising: a) in a vessel, providing a support to a liquid mixture comprising contents of a destabilized droplet that comprise a target molecule, wherein said support binds said target molecule to provide a bound target molecule; b) immobilizing said support at a first location of said vessel, thereby separating said support from said liquid mixture; c) removing said liquid mixture from said vessel; d) providing a suspension fluid to said vessel, thereby suspending said support in said suspension fluid; and e) immobilizing said support at a second location of said vessel, thereby separating said support from said suspension fluid, wherein said second location of said vessel is different than said first location of said vessel.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein, in a), said liquid mixture further comprises a chaotrope that aids in said support binding said target molecule.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said chaotrope comprises guanadine thiocyanate or guanidine hydrochloride.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein, in a), said liquid mixture further comprises a polymeric species.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said polymeric species comprises polyacrylamide or agarose.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein said polyacrylamide comprises a linear polyacrylamide.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein, in a), said droplet is an aqueous droplet.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein, in a), said liquid mixture further comprises a destabilization agent capable of destabilizing an emulsion.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein said destabilization agent comprises perfluorooctanol.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein, in a), said liquid mixture further comprises a primer.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein said primer comprises a barcode sequence.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein said primer comprises a random N-mer.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein, in a), said liquid mixture further comprises a reducing agent.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein b) further comprises magnetically immobilizing said support at said first location of said vessel.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein c) further comprises removing said liquid mixture from said vessel via suction.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein c) further comprises removing said liquid mixture from said vessel via decanting.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein, in d), said suspension fluid comprises ethanol, isopropanol, or acetone.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein e) further comprises magnetically immobilizing said support at said second location of said vessel.
 19. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after e), releasing said bound target molecule from said support, to provide a released target molecule.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein said releasing is completed with the aid of an elution agent.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein said elution agent is selected from the group consisting of water, Tris buffer, phosphate buffer, and sodium hydroxide.
 22. The method of claim 19, prior to said releasing said bound target molecule from said support, washing said support in one or more wash cycles by contacting said support with a washing agent.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein said washing agent comprises ethanol, isopropanol, or acetone.
 24. The method of claim 19, further comprising, after said releasing said bound target molecule from said support, subjecting said released target molecule to a solid phase reversible immobilization process.
 25. The method of claim 1, wherein said target molecule comprises a target nucleic acid molecule.
 26. The method of claim 25, further comprising, after e), determining a sequence of said target nucleic acid molecule.
 27. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after e), appending one or more additional nucleotides to said target nucleic acid molecule to provide a larger target nucleic acid molecule.
 28. The method of claim 27, further comprising determining a sequence of said larger target nucleic acid molecule.
 29. The method of claim 1, wherein said target molecule comprises a small molecule, a protein, or a peptide.
 30. The method of claim 1, wherein said support comprises a magnetic material.
 31. The method of claim 1, wherein said support comprises a particle.
 32. The method of claim 1, wherein said support is functionalized with a silanol that aids said support in binding said target molecule.
 33. The method of claim 1, wherein said support is functionalized with a carboxylate that aids said support in binding said target molecule.
 34. The method of claim 1, wherein said vessel is selected from the group consisting of a tube, a well, a dish and a container. 